The Volthoon Saga
by foxnranger
Summary: Jade Nova is found by the fledgling Green Lantern that had been given her ring. Meanwhile, the mad monk from Qward is making another attempt at destroying the Corps.
1. The New Kid

Jade had lain quite low ever since she'd gotten the 'gift' from Volthoon. She knew they wouldn't find her just for using the new ring, but she knew that strange occurrences generated rumors... and even if they were all hopeless gits, she still wasn't taking any chances. She'd left Gotham, passed through NYC long enough to enjoy the seasonal festivities, then moved on to Chicago, where she'd settled for the time being. It had more than its share of an underworld, and it didn't take too long for her to set herself up once again as a bouncer in a bar off ill repute. Specifically, a horrid little place known as Bernie's. The little Mexican bar was the kind of place that anyone who was sane avoided. Both the overpowering smell of Mexican spices and the general shady atmosphere of the place drifted a good block in any direction from the bar's neon sign. Jade was lurking there at the moment, as she did every night, in the corner where the pool tables were. Her newly acquired ring was on her hand, but concealed in a trick she'd figured out years ago to look like a simple gold band. Eyeing the table over the rims of her glasses, she was just waiting for something interesting to happen.

Dave was busy rocketing across the skies of America himself. Just over a week ago he'd been offered the ring, and he hadn't once regretted it yet. The other Lanterns had been showing him the ropes, teaching him to use his ring. It could be extremely difficult, but with a ring such as his, it came down to two principles - imagination and force of will. For now, however, they'd let him wander around on his own, letting him 'get the feel' of it, only advising him to try and stay out of solving crimes and actively protecting others. They didn't doubt his skill, they just wanted him a bit more tempered in his new 'occupation' before having him aid them in the eternal struggle for peace and order. Oddly enough, he kept feeling drawn somehow. He stopped over in Chicago, wandering some of the streets in a plain disguise. It felt almost as though the ring was drawing him here, like some bit of history it had been involved in was lurking somewhere nearby. He couldn't explain it.

The holiday festivities hadn't quite died out at Bernie's. In fact, it was only the cigarette dangling between her lips that was keeping Jade from killing someone over the fact that Feliz Navidad was on for the fifth time this hour. The bar was still decorated in gaudy tinsel things, and the counter was still wrapped in lights. Blinking, annoying things they were. She growled slightly, as they almost seemed to be blinking in tune with the song, and then forced her eyes back on the table, taking her shot. A shout from across the bar caused her to miss. Baring her teeth a little, she shot a glower in the direction of the disturbance. College kids, about to get into a fight over something she likely didn't give a damn about. Her eyes drifted to Bill, the owner and bartender. He gave her a nod. And she all too cheerfully started across the room to toss the brawlers out onto the street.

When the woman, helping those in a state of disagreement by tossing them out, made her appearance, it was as though he'd been shocked. Somehow the ring was connected to her. He couldn't explain how he knew, he just did. He took a few tentative steps towards her, thinking hard. He certainly didn't recognize her, but the ring seemed focused on her. Kyle had mentioned the ring had been obtained from a 'former associate'. Could this be her?

"And stay out. I enjoy this -way- too much," Jade muttered as the two landed on the pavement. She started to turn and go back in, when she saw the young man lurking, and move towards the door. No, not the door, his eyes were on her. And some kind of instinct made her stop, looking him over. "If you're thinkin' of goin' inside, kiddo, you'd better be 21. Let's see some ID." It wasn't necessarily her job to card people, she was mostly just there to break up fights and toss people out. But something in the way he was looking at her made her damn sure she wanted to have some idea who he was.

Dave chuckled slightly. "Not intending to go inside...I just.... know..." He was babbling, and making a rather large fool of himself. He decided on a more direct approach. He pulled his hands from his pockets, making the ring glimmer slightly before tucking them back in. "I felt drawn to this part of town." He'd let her deduce the rest. Secrets didn't need to be blabbed.

Her eyes narrowed on the ring. That small emerald glimmer was all it had taken for her to know - he had her ring. Her blue eyes narrowed further, moving from the ring to his face. Muttering something none to friendly under her breath, she turned, shoving the door open long enough to shout, "Bill. I'm out. Got business." She stepped away from the door as it closed, placing her rather close to Dave, glowering at him in typical Jade welcome. "So. He sends a rookie after me? Too chicken to come himself?" she asked lowly.

Dave seemed confused, he backed off a step. "After you? I just..." He trailed off again, settling for honesty. "I guess you mean Rayner. He didn't send me after anyone. All I could tell was that something was here. It was like the Ring sensed you, and drew me along with it. Kyle never mentioned anyone like you, or in Chicago. I just came. They probably wouldn't be happy knowing I stopped into a city." He chuckled almost morosely.

Frankie eyed him, her scowl darkening as she could see he was telling the truth. She was no longer scowling at him. "Of all the idiotic-" she trailed off with a snarl, her eyes moving over the alley a moment, and then she looked back at him. Any small amount of competence she'd credited her counterpart with had just been withdrawn. They'd apparently just given him the ring and turned him loose. Kyle, of all people, should have had more sense than that. Go figure. "C'mon, kid. We need to talk," she said, with a nod at a nearby alley. "Looks like I gotta play babysitter yet again..."

Dave Naturally wasn't quite thrilled at being 'babysat', but following along anyways. He wanted to know who this was, and how was she connected to Rayner and the Lanterns. Kyle hadn't mentioned anyone else. Either he had forgotten, or just omitted this information. Convenient. It seemed this was worth putting up with a little patronizing.

She somewhat growled as he actually followed her into the dark alley. The kid was either far to trusting, or overconfident. The thought of just beating him senseless - which she doubted would take much work - and then taking her ring back crossed her mind. But she had a ring. And Kyle likely had a reason for picking this kid. Hopefully, it was something other than typical rashness on Kyle's part. Jade moved about half the length of the alley to a fire escape, and after pulling the ladder down, she made her way up to the third floor of a shabby apartment building, sliding in through a window. This was her current place of residence, nicer than the places she generally stayed in, as Bill owned the building, and there was actual furniture. When Dave entered the window behind her, she gestured at the small couch, still covered in a paint-throw. "Sit, kid. And tell me somethin'. They at least tell you who Parallax was?" Jade herself sank into a chair across from the couch, pulling a cigarette from the pack in her jacket to replace the one she'd put out in the alley below.

"Aside from being the destroyer of the Lantern Corps, and somehow currently at large on Earth - no." Kyle had decided explaining the ring's origin to Dave was not the best idea right then, planning on doing so later when he'd been seasoned a bit. He hadn't taken the offered seat, staying near the window if an exit was needed. "They say Batman spotted Parallax in Gotham a few weeks ago." Somehow, despite the familiar sense, in these closer quarters, she almost radiated an aura of danger. Something was definitely different, and it wasn't just the ring this time.

Jade buried her face in her palms a moment, releasing a soft growl of frustration. Her attitude abruptly changed as she lit the cig, inhaling and exhaling a somewhat artful cloud of smoke. Dropping her hands in her lap, she chuckled slightly. "Guess Kyle wouldn't know any better, he's never had to deal with someone else's ring." Half smirking, she gestured at the couch again. "Relax. I washed my hands of the Corps a long time ago, but we'll call this a temporary truce. At least long enough for me to make sure having my old ring doesn't get you killed. Name's Frankie." It would probably be better if she didn't mention being Jade or Parallax, she thought. Her mind worked to create another story.

"Then I guess that makes you the 'former associate'." Facing her as he had a seat, he explained. "It was what Kyle told me about where he'd gotten the ring. I never expected it to search out its old bearer. Kyle, John, Jade - they've been telling me what to expect, giving me pointers, and running me through exercises over the last week. This wasn't in the textbook, so to speak. I'm Dave." She was not overly fond of Rayner. Hmm. Kyle had mentioned the ring was like a memory bank. If it remembered her, maybe he could call up past records of her from its own database.

"Former associate..." she rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Had personal differences with the rest of 'em and left- I'm sure you've already noticed I'm little miss ray of sunshine." Gazing at him a minute, she then rubbed her eyes and readjusted her glasses. "Look. Dave. Don't get into the habit of just blindly following that thing where it tugs. That thing's been places you -don't- want to go. Hell, for example. I'm not kidding, either." She paused, and then said very pointedly. "That ring's different from everyone else's, kid. It's not from this dimension. It -may- not even be genuine."

Dave directed an odd glance towards the ring on the middle finger of his right hand. "Does Kyle know about this?" He was wondering if the supposed 'head' of the Lantern Corps knew about the history of the ring. If so, he'd ask. If not, well, here's hoping she could shed light on it. After the encounter with the lovely and bubbly Miss Frankie, he planned on taking her advice though. He didn't want to go chasing tugs after this one.

"No. He doesn't," she said flatly with a shrug. "I'm the only one who does. Which, I guess, is why I feel responsible for you. Feck..." she shook her head slightly, and then laughed. It was a somewhat dark laugh. "Me, of all people, playing mentor to a fledgling Lantern."  It was likely when he got back to Kyle, this encounter would be mentioned, and that would blow all of the cards she had up her sleeve at the moment. Hanging out with Hal and Batman had apparently made her soft. "Still. I do feel responsible, and I'd never forgive myself if you got yourself killed while wearing my ring because I didn't bother teaching you the finer points of its use."

Dave chuckled wryly himself. "'Preciate that. Kyle doesn't know what all it can do, only that it doesn't seem to need recharging, and it works against both yellow things and wood. It operates in the same fashion as the other rings, though, as far as he could tell. Though I'm guessing he's not quite reached the extent of it, guessing by the look on your face." He fell silent, letting her explain, figuring she'd know more.

She shook her head slightly. "All that's right, at least. It won't drain. I buried the battery in the ring's core. I also drained off a good bit of the battery's power before I handed it over to Kyle." Jade narrowed her eyes on him again, then said, "At full power, that ring has the ability to traverse time. And dimensions. That's why I drained the battery. If, somehow, you manage to absorb enough power to restore that ability, I'd suggest you don't use it. There's a temporal police force somewhere in the future, just waiting for that ring to light up like a signal flare. They -will- kill you for jumping time. Took off half my face once when I did it." She rubbed the left half of her face.  "This is just a sorcerer's illusion."

Dave eyed Frankie intently. This ring was getting stranger all the time. "Anything else about it that will get me in trouble and or killed?" He was hoping not. He didn't need that many complications. From what she was saying, he was already the veritable toddler with the .38 Magnum, perhaps out a bit too early. But he was still glad to know about the crossing time and/or space capabilities. He was a simple guy, and didn't need half his face gone. Heck, knowing him, he'd lose his whole face.

She half smiled. "If, for some reason, a rather menacing sorcerer in a gold helmet comes after you... Eh. Just be polite and tell him anything he wants to know. Seriously... He's one of the 'good guys,' but he doesn't take no for an answer. And he can yank the power out of that ring faster than you can blink. He's the one I got it from..." She trailed off and was silent a few moments, and then she asked, "You figure out how to heal yourself and others yet, mister?"

Dave shook his head. "I'm not quite up among the august company of Green Lanterns. I'm definitely no Hal Jordan. I know the standard force field heals me, provides atmosphere, removes wastes, etc, but I'm not sure about others. There a trick to it, or is this an application of will?" Constructs he'd gotten a good handle on, and flying was one of his more favored pastimes. The more subtle applications, applying the energy to forces of nature, to things not visible to the eye, he was still working on.

Jade flinched at the mention of Hal, then sighed, her hand moving to her boot to withdraw the switchblade, which was flicked open with a click. "The 'standard' field does that, but if you get the hell beat out of you in a fight, you'll learn to make it work faster. As for others..." she dug the point of the blade into her wrist, dragging it up almost to her elbow, slicing open the main vein a good way. "That takes a little bit of extra work." She curled the fingers of her right hand, the blood flowing freely down her arm. "Fix it," she commanded. She didn't seem all that bothered by the fact she was rather rapidly bleeding to death.

Dave looked at her a moment, never having done it before. But determination set in. It had to, if he were going to make this work. The green light sprang from the ring, enveloping her arm. Focusing his concentration, he got a quick scan of her arm, finding the extent and depth of the damage, and then turned that same energy into an instrument of repair, trying his best to imagine it pulling the cells back together and bonding them there. His work seemed painstakingly long, but after a good portion of a minute, he was finished. He loosed a nervous chuckle. "Guess that settles it, if I ever get to teach my kid to swim, I'm tossing him in and letting him figure it out himself." Learning seemed facilitated when presented with a rather nasty alternative.

Jade closed her eyes, feeling the green energy once again working at her system. She said nothing till she'd felt the flesh and muscle of her arm completely mended. Opening her eyes, she gave a small nod of approval. "More serious injuries take a little more thought, but it's the same principle. The hard part, I guess, is not letting your reaction to the injuries get in the way of your concentration." She was feeling oddly patient, at the moment. Enjoying herself. It fecking scared her. "You've got a kid then? Or, should I say, you've got a family?"

Dave shrugged. "Well, I used to. Girlfriend left with the kid for someone else." He chuckled slightly. He'd put it behind him best he could. He'd had a mostly pleasant change lately. Aside from finding out strange sorcerers or time police might come after him with his odd ring, it had been enjoyable. He'd accompanied John Stewart on a few 'test runs' earlier. John wouldn't trust anyone but himself in the training of a new Lantern, it seemed.

"All the same. You're going to make enemies. I've never had a family or anything to worry about, so I've never bothered hiding who I am with a mask. Hal... Kyle, I mean. He's had enemies find out who he was. And they always go after the family. Your little stunt tonight, flashing your ring like that... Don't -ever- fecking do that again when you're not wearing a mask." She paused, and then took the risk of saying, "It takes a lot of practice to get it down, but you can mask the ring's form. Make it look like something else."

Dave could have argued back on the point that Stewart never wore masks, but Stewart had no family, and precious few good friends. He had almost none at all outside the Justice League or what was left of the Lantern Corps. "I suppose there are parts of me who wouldn't mind seeing the ex go down, but that's mean the same for my son, and I'd never wish that on him. Point taken." He meant to find out about this masking trick. He was questioning on whether or not to tell Kyle about this 'Frankie'. There were pros and cons of doing so. For now, he felt silence might be the better choice, and would need a more innocent reason to ask about the masking bit.

She nodded again, and fell to silent contemplation, her eyes drifting to her hands. Or more specifically, the ring on her left hand. "I'll make you a deal, Dave. Swear on your kid's life you'll give me two weeks before you mention a word of any of this to Kyle or the others, and I'll take a week to make you the best Lantern in the Corps." She raised her eyes, looking at him over the rims of her glasses.

Dave chuckled wryly. "I hadn't planned on telling them at all, just yet. I've been shuffled around enough like a kid. I decided I wanted to give my ego a break from the bruising. But as for the 'tutoring'...I'd appreciate it."

Jade eyed him, and then nodded. "Fine. Then we have a deal. Now. Watch. And not just with your fecking eyes. Use the ring. Feel it." She held up her left hand, showing him the back, where the light was glinting off the gold band. In a shimmer of amber, the ring seemed to morph, revealing its true shape. It looked exactly like Dave's own ring, but yellow. It lingered that way for a few seconds, and then shifted back to a gold band. "You get that?" she asked, dropping her arm. "Or do I need to do it again?"

Dave "Wait..." Dave recalled the same kind of idea behind altering the uniform. It took him a few tries, but he eventually made it into a fairly decent silver band with an emerald stone set in it. "Good enough for government work." Feeling the ring was strange. Maybe he felt it more strongly, since its previous bearer was around. He'd have to work on that.

"Heh." Jade nodded, though. This must have been what Hal had felt like, in the Corps. This seemed like his sort of thing. So she justified it that way, that she was just doing it for the memory of Hal. Somewhere in the midst of everything, Hal had rubbed off just a little. "Now, we go into something a little less pretty," she said, standing. The cigarette was pulled from her lips, and found its way out the open window. As her arm dropped back by her side, amber energy flickered across her form, her clothing disappearing in a fiery energy sheath. She opened her now-pupiless eyes, fixing them on him. "Field trip time, kiddo."

Dave An emerald glow enveloped the rookie of the room, his hazel eyes glowing a bright green, the Green Lantern uniform replacing his regular garb. "After you." He wasn't totally sure about following her, but he wanted to learn. And Kyle hadn't been all that forthcoming. Hell, he had never even known about the ring's origins, and all of what the ring could do. She'd given him a fair start, and a damned good practical lesson. She seemed all right.

Jade went through the roof. Without leaving a mark, having altered molecules to phase through it. She hovered, waiting for him, then continued upwards, into the depths of space. Damn. This felt good. It was something she hadn't taken the chances of doing since she'd gotten the ring from Volthoon, but now she had an excuse. She didn't stop once she'd broken through the earth's atmosphere. She continued out into the void until they were at the edge of the asteroid field between Earth and Mars. There, she stopped, turning to look at him. "I'm not going to go easy on you. In fact, I'm going to kill you if you don't defend yourself. Do you understand?" Jade may not be able to kill anyone, but then again, she was the only one that knew that.

Dave narrowed his gaze as he watched her. She liked these 'trials by fire' too much, he thought. He hadn't been in space, but he believed in the power of his ring, and figured he could at least keep himself alive, at the very least. He kept going over everything Stewart had been telling him about fights - to keep his mind clear. He was amazed by the display around him, but he was making himself focus on her, and anything she might do.

A small smirk was all she gave in warning before bringing left hand up and forward, a fireball of energy forming in her palm and streaking out across the distance towards him. In a way, she was testing herself as well as him. She wasn't certain what the extent of the powers of her own ring were yet, either. Her next move was to disappear into the asteroid field. This was likely going to go on for a long time. Or, she hoped it would. Then she'd have at least one worthwhile adversary in the Corps when it came down to the inevitable.

Stewart's admonition to be 'innovative' and constantly moving in a fight came to mind. A whirl of the emerald energy spun into existence before him, angling back into a conical shape, a drill of sorts, which shot forward, towing him along on a strand of the green light. The spinning drill whirled neatly through the fireball, carrying him safely through it, when he let it go, causing it to fracture into several small beams, still moving in a whirling cloud, heading towards Jade.

Pursued, Jade turned, coming to a halt, a somewhat remorseful grin on her lips as she recalled her first encounter with Trunks. Predictably, it had been a fight, where she'd been intent on killing the smug little brat. Especially once he knocked her flat on her ass. She couldn't pull things off the same way he had, but she'd come up with a rough approximation that had worked in the past. Her form flared in fire that rather blurred her image, and she divided her concentration into two tasks. Using her powers to leave that image there, while bending the light around her actual form to render herself invisible. At least, to the eyes. It was the sort of thing that only worked once, but it allowed her to sidestep his attack, following up with a counterattack of her own, producing an approximation of a large mallet as she dropped the other image, swinging it at what should have been Dave's backside.

The ring was 'tugging' again. Glancing around, looking for the source of the tug, he found the hammer swinging at him. He had just enough time to increase the strength of his force field before the hammer impacted, sending hurtling towards the asteroids. A big one, in particular. His emerald power flaring to life again, a massive gauntlet appeared on his arm, which he used to smash his way through the rock before he could check his momentum, pushing off a final asteroid, headed back into the fray. Grasping onto a forming green bar, he began rocketing forward as small engines appeared on the forming craft, filling out with a ring encircling the bar, a half dozen laser cannons appearing around the circle, all opening fire on the wielder of the yellow ring.

All and all, the kid wasn't too bad. He had a good instinct, and he didn't hesitate once he'd started something. Eyeing the approaching craft, Jade gritted her teeth, thrusting her hands in front of her and creating a concave shield, one that would redirect the laser shots back where they'd come. Once more bending light around her form to flicker out of sight, she drifted out from behind the shield, using her powers to envelope several nearby chunks of asteroid in golden fire, causing them to close in on the man. It was an attempt to confuse her opponent, and make him focus his senses more in order to sniff her out, as it were. She waited for an opportunity to strike.

Dave let go of his makeshift assault craft ducking most of the deflected laser blasts, the rest bouncing off the sheath of emerald light surrounding him. The chunks of asteroid wreathed in flame were a new distraction though. But Stewart's philosophy concerning obstruction had been simple. Remove it. Noting wistfully that one of the other Lantern's could have likely cleared the yellow-controlled rocks away easily, he went for a simpler road, being newer to this. Focusing his attention on one at a time, he used some plain raw power to smash them into a few too many fragments to keep track of. Having fewer manifestations of the yellow energy around, he turned his attentions to finding his opponent. She wasn't behind the energy shield anymore, and he felt somewhat pleased that he could tell. Employing another emerald beam, he pushed himself out of the immediate field of battle. The beam widened, changing into a near-180 degree hemisphere, which caused the rocks with the golden auras to glow red, as the beam was meant to do the same to Jade, scanning for usage of the yellow energy."

Jade was drifting in an attempt to get behind him when he stumbled across the means of tracking her energy. She was, of course, prepared for this, having been there before, and was simply using the energy of the light and radiation she was bending around herself to mask the power she was using to do so. This one was clever. This one might become a thorn in her side if she allowed it. That less than happy thought brought Jade to the conclusion that this fight -couldn't- go on for too long, else she'd kick into nicotine withdrawal. She doubted that'd be a pretty sight.

Dave frowned. Jade's insistence that he pay attention to the 'sixth sense' that his ring could afford him was on his mind, and it kept nagging that something was getting nearer. Jade, of course, but where? Squeezing his eyes shut and trusting the emerald ring, of possibly-other-than-Oan make, and spun around, his hemisphere coming with him. A massive series of holes appeared in the half-dome, altering into a large net, retracting rapidly into the ring. Maybe all those years in the Boy Scouts had hammered the 'Be Prepared' motto into his skull after all.

When he moved suddenly, Jade figured he'd found a means of coping with the presented problem. As the net materialized out of the energy, she pretty much said to hell with it and darted towards him, her hands in front of her forming three large saw blades, the teeth dancing in flames, and sent them spinning ahead of her towards Dave. Her hands balled into fists, she drew balls of fiery energy around them, intent on controlling the course of the blades to keep them from bouncing off any shield the man threw up to block them.

Placing a hand to his temple, focusing intently, a small sphere of energy from his outstretched ring hand, from which three appendages burst, each sprouting a pinching clamp, biting down on the centers of the blades, aiming to halt their motion. Utilizing his clamps, the pincers shifted slightly, changing into a pseudo-axle for the arbor holes in the blades, forming crude buzz saws, which tried pushing their way back towards the creator of the blades.

Jade came to a halt, gritting her teeth and pressing with her own will against his construct designed to stop the blades. A simple struggle of will wasn't going to end this, but for the moment, she didn't care. The thought once again crossed her mind, though subtly, that Dave was going to be a thorn in her side. Her aggression rose in response to that thought. Her golden lips parted in a snarl, as she shifted the shape of the blades, teeth forming on the inside edge of the arbor holes.

The clamping constructs found themselves severed, the blades hunting him anew. Stretching his arms wide, large new energy forms appeared, massive and thick; a series of pinpoints dotting the broad sides of these walls. Bringing his arms together, the walls served as a crude compactor, catching the blades between them with a soundless thud in the vacuum of space. But this constant defense wouldn't work. Another clamping construct sprang from his current focus, this one hunting down Jade herself to trap her. It had been lesson #3 with Stewart - never let your opponent walk all over you. Go to them.

Annoyed by his solution, her eyes blazed just a little dangerously. Trailing tendrils of flame extended from each of her fingertips, forming into snaking chains. Those on her left hand moved to try and tangle themselves around the clamping construct, those on her right hand continuing to extend, snaking towards Dave like fast moving vines in an attempt to snag some part of his body. The spiteful determination was growing into something more definite.

Dropping his system of contracts, he expanded his force field into a broader sphere, which sprouted small pointed teeth. The teeth began moving, and disappearing in a whirl of motion. The sphere charged forward, slicing its way through the vines, making his way for Frankie. The look in her eyes and on her face was changing. He'd known she wasn't out to kill him, despite her warning she would. But the fire burned differently now. She was getting honestly irked.

She was now more than just irked. She was bordering on murderous, the voice in the back of her mind gently directing her thoughts to Dave going back to the Corps, finding out who she was, and bringing them to hunt her down. Jade used a burst of brute force and raw anger in the form of a large fist to redirect the sphere away from her, a second fist forming in a right cross towards Dave immediately afterwards. "Dare you oppose a -god-!" she snarled, the words leaving her lips before the thought registered rationally in her brain. She had sworn those words had been uttered for the last time a few years ago, yet something in the back of her mind was insisting that she enjoyed that feeling of god like power. Torn between horror and bloodlust, she somewhat froze, her eyes looking a little wild.

Dave's sphere construct was rather demolished, having been battered quite severely. Being a good several hundred feet from Jade, he watched her carefully, confused. His voice was somewhat hesitant. "Up until now...I hadn't been aware I was facing one..." What exactly was she? He wasn't sure, and part of him worried what the answer would be, as whatever she had been could likely be a part of his ring. The thought that he might one day become like that was disturbing. Seeking the ring's past memory records would be the first order of business once he got home. Hoping he got home, at that.

_You -are- Parallax. You enjoy the power._  The subtle nudging at the back of her mind didn't register as an intrusive other-mindly thought. It was something she had always questioned herself. Didn't she enjoy the power? "No.Parallax is dead..." she growled softly to herself, and then narrowed her eyes on Dave again. She was concerned, and she masked it in the same way she masked everything. "Training is over. Get back to Earth."

"Right." He wasn't going to argue after something like that. A god? But of what sort? Kyle hadn't mentioned anything special about the previous bearer of his ring. He had some looking to do. He doubted Kyle would be totally forthcoming, and Kyle didn't even have all the answers. He'd need to look through the old memories of the ring. He turned to return to the pale blue dot he called home, pausing to call over his shoulder. "Frankie... thanks." She didn't seem like the type for mushy gratitude, and kept on going.

Jade had her back to the little blue world, and didn't respond as Dave left. He left. She was impressed. He didn't question her. Yes, he was a smart one. _That was going to be a problem. _Why would that be a problem? ... At the moment, she had no intention of going back to Earth. It was just an instinct she got, that where she needed to be at the moment was somewhere in the depths of space. Jade trusted that gut instinct, as it had been the thing that had kept her alive ever since she was a kid. She went where instinct led.


	2. Price of a Yellow Ring

And she didn't return for a good week. When she did return, it was to wreak havoc - something she'd already been forced to do on some random planet that she was guided to, just to drive up her taste for blood. By the time she realized that she was no longer alone in her head, as it were, it was far too late. Volthoon had denied her the time to reason over her emotions, and had denied her cigarettes, tearing down the wards Strangefate had placed on her mind to keep her savage temper in check. When she returned to earth, it was in a golden mockery of Parallax's armor, with a renewed mission to destroy the Corps. Volthoon hungered for revenge. Qward, too, hungered for revenge, their first invasion of the planet repelled by the Corps and the Justice League. Under Volthoon's guidance, Jade lashed out against the population of Chicago - just to draw out the good guys. Volthoon was gently pressing for Gotham, figuring he could fully destroy any remaining sense of reformation Jade had made if she could be made to turn on the city in which one of her only friends resided. Likely killing that friend. But deep down there were still a few points that Jade instinctively wasn't willing to yield on. So Volthoon settled for Chicago. And grew stronger with every life that was snuffed out by his little golden puppet.

Dave was the first to arrive in Chicago, along with his mentor and trainer - John Stewart. He'd been easing his way into assisting in the protection of Earth and nearby planets, helping bolster his confidence, and establishing himself as a Green Lantern. He and Stewart easily agreed on splitting up. Dave had a bit of an unfair advantage, being able to feel out Jade with his ring, and steered Stewart elsewhere. He wanted to at least trying to reason with her. She deserved that much. After all, he'd found Jade's experiences, stored safely within the ring. She had been Parallax, following after Hal Jordan. It was a rather dizzying whirl of temporal alterations, but he got the gist of it. Jade had basically sacrificed everything she had been for a friend, and the universe seemed keen on stepping on her again. Dave had a nasty feeling, given the golden flair her armor bore, that this yellow ring was behind the sudden change. Aha. The massive golden fist smashing various buildings flat did seem like a good indicator she was here. Any doubts that he was too green to take on Parallax had been firmly pressed from his mind. He couldn't allow doubt of any form to take shape in his thoughts, or he was as good as dead already. Finding Jade proved a surprising sight. She looked impressive, despite being in the middle of a 'kill people' spree. "Jade!" He just wanted her to stop and listen. It was the only chance he had of reasoning with her.

In the manner customary to egotistical mad villains like Volthoon, she did stop. But only after utterly leveling the building that she was hovering over, and sending a golden backhand towards the national guard that was foolish enough to send in a two tanks and an bunch of soldiers, rending the tanks useless. They'd have done better sending a flock of militant sheep with the tanks. At least amusement at the absurdity of the situation would have distracted Volthoon enough for someone to do... something that would have proven useless. She turned, crossing her arms over her chest, the golden cape trailing behind her, its edges dancing in threads of flame. "It would appear the time has come to conclude your training. And your career as a Green Lantern!" The arrogance sounded like Jade, yes, but the words were just all wrong.

"Right, and I haven't even gotten benefit information yet." His ring flared to life, and the construct sprouting from the ground, whipping out at the monk-controlled Jade, its tentacle-like branches aiming to capture the appendages of his opponent. "Why, Jade? I know you. I've seen inside your head." He tapped his ring to accentuate his remark. "You're tired of the constant fighting and killing. Why this again?" He could hear the odd tone, and the words Jade would never use. This wasn't adding up. Something was wrong, and somehow he got the feeling Jade wasn't 'in' to hear his questions.

She thrust her arms out to the side in grand gesture, a large sphere of golden energy enveloping the area around them both, decimating anything that happened to be in its way of forming. And protecting her from the snaking tendrils. As Volthoon was growing stronger from the destruction, he was pouring that strength into the ring, slowly but surely bringing himself and his power through the dimensions. Fiery trails of lightening erupted from the inner walls of the sphere, lashing out towards Dave. "Why this again? Because this time I will destroy the Green Lanterns once and for all. Because this time, I will seize Earth! Qward shall triumph at last!"

Dave winced as the assault scored a few hits on him. This wasn't good; Volthoon was like a tsunami of power, and getting stronger every minute. Calling on his power to escape the sphere, a glob of a gelatinous green substance appeared, plummeting towards who he was rather sure was not Jade. Not at the moment, anyhow. "Qward? I've heard about you people. Hold grudges a bit long, do we?" He didn't want to hurt Jade, but he wanted to know whom he was dealing with and what this person had planned. "So which megalomaniac is it this week? And please tell me you've got something planned better than a thrash and smash campaign. I saw too many of those in New York. They're rather old." He was normally somewhat sarcastic, but he was trying to be even more so to make this person mad, and possibly get careless.

A wave of her hand projected a larger golden hand to deflect the glob, dismissing the sphere, and also smugly dismissing the attempt at provocation as just as irrelevant. "My plans are of no concern to you. You will not live to see them carried through!" With an overdramatic gesture, a torrent of heat was released, forced through the cold air to create a violent amount of convection, erupting into a destructive, golden-flaming tornado, which was rapidly growing larger and moving after the Lantern. And wracking up property damage in the process.

The emerald flare was still visible, despite the yellow glow of the cyclone. Dave had responded in kind, loosing his own twister to combat the yellow. But Dave himself burst through the wrestling air currents, and came to a halt near Jade. His mouth curled slowly. "Watch me. If you think I'm going to roll over and die just because you dressed Jade up in the Parallax armor, I'd recommend thinking again."

"-Idiot!-" It was an honest Jade sentiment, so powerfully felt by the woman that her growl escaped the control Volthoon had over her, allowing her to express it. This, of course, did nothing to halt the repercussions of Dave getting too close. Those being another burst of heat, creating a torrent of violent air current directly around him. Lightning formed in the vortex, as well as needle like shards of golden hail.

His mistake was realized too late, and Chicago's first defender was felled, caught in the blinding and lashing torrent of golden energy, dropping to the ground. His force field flickered out as he rolled to a stop on the pavement below. He felt dazed, only barely aware of Jade above him. He reasoned the Justice League would be here soon though, along with the other Lanterns. Surely they would be able to stop her. No - stop whatever it was controlling her. A slight wince crossed his face, rather expected for Jade's influence to snuff him out. "Sorry Jade," he mouth, his voice hardly a whisper. "Didn't learn quite enough."

Gleefully aware of his first stroke of vengeance, Volthoon forced jade to the ground, a simple, yet brutal axe appearing in her hands. The axe swing was brought to a halt within a foot of connecting. Jade's lips were parted in a very Jade like snarl. "Get up, Dave! Now!" she growled, struggling against the axe that was drawing back for another swing. Jade, of course, lost. Volthoon's strength was still increasing from the tornado he had earlier turned loose on the city. "Don't get up on my account..." The axe was brought down once again, this time unstopped.

Another green beam of energy latched onto the ax, halting its downward progress. Rayner and the others had arrived. Rayner, having a ring that could function against yellow, took the lead, while Stewart held back to see if Dave was all right. A bit dazed, but recovering, he waved Stewart off, who left to aid Kyle. Dave watched the other engage Jade, using strategies a bit more sound than his. But he needed to get Frankie out of this. But he couldn't do this like he was. Frankie had told him that his ring had powers none of the other rings did, but he needed to recharge the battery, buried deep inside his ring to do so. Kyle told him he'd tried with the batteries on Earth, but none had worked.

The only battery bigger...was the Central Power Battery on Oa. But going to Oa would be a round trip of a few days at least. But there was no other way to save Frankie from this. She didn't deserve to get killed for something she hadn't done. Especially not after all she'd given up. "I'm sorry." His only words communicated to the others were almost lost in the forming sonic boom, as he headed skyward, shifting into his top speed as he hit space, vanishing into a wormhole.

Kyle, however, it was hard for Jade to find remorse in turning to attack him and the others, and so it was very easy for Volthoon to throw her into it. But for the moment, Volthoon knew they were both too weak to take on the full strength of the Corps. Selectivity would be needed... And he was close enough that it wouldn't take much more for him to break through with an army of Weaponers to back him up. Then the fun would begin. The struggle went on for a few moments until a clearing was found, and Volthoon yanked Jade through a wormhole of his own - enjoying the destructive repercussions doing so in the full force of the earth's gravity left in its wake.

A little more than a Terran day later, Dave arrived at the center of the known universe - Oa. The Power Battery was impossible to miss, and he bee lined straight for it. Ganthet was present, along with the recently resurrected and childlike Guardians. He'd opened his mouth to ask a question, but Dave had blown past him, not wasting any time. But charging the battery within the ring proved a doozy. The others had explained recharging rings, which was simple, but as his didn't need recharging... Dave elected to take the straightforward approach, and focus, and if he willed it enough, it ought to happen. Falling back on a cliché, and little-used oath anymore, he stretched out his ring towards the massive column of endless green energy. "In brightest day, in blackest night..." The oath itself serving as a focus point - channeling his desperation into determination. A strand of energy connected the Battery to its smaller counterpart within the ring, filling its partly emptied cells to their capacities. But his thoughts had turned to Jade, and her change. She was possessed by one of the Guardians of Qward. He would be stopped. "...Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power - Green Lantern's light!" The ring felt warm, abuzz with energies that it hadn't wielded in awhile. Dave noted that he had at least a day's journey back to Earth. He'd figure some way to separate the Qwardian from Jade, and then he planned on using Jade's secrets about his ring to destroy him. Letting his new power flow through himself a moment, he took a few minutes to use Jade's healing lessons to patch himself up from the beating he'd gotten, and flushing some of the sleep toxins his fatigue had produced. But there was no time to rest properly, and he was back to Earth at top speed.

By the time Dave got back to earth, he wouldn't need to formulate a plan to separate Jade and Volthoon. Volthoon had struck again, in a nuclear testing ground in the desert, employing the energy of the explosion to open the gateway bringing himself and his army fully through. His control over Jade was even stronger in person. He met little resistance. Her heart had given over to the defeat. A pawn yet again. Always a pawn. A pawn for destructive evil. So she fought by his side, finding herself with no thoughts but revenge on the Corps and the glory of Qward that he planted there. Their weapons were specifically designed for the challenge they had known they would face, and it was obvious they'd spent years developing them with this goal in mind. A battle raged on earth between the invading Qwardian army, and a combined effort of the Lantern Corps, Justice League, and a few other groups of random Earth heroes. It was chaos. And Volthoon fed off the chaos.

Descending through the atmosphere like an emerald comet, he sought out Volthoon. It would be the quickest way to end the conflicts. Lashing out with brute force, a simple green ray barreled ahead of him, aiming straight for the leader of the Qwardian advance. Dave admittedly wanted to smack the man who'd beaten him down at least once before using his ace in the hole, but he also wanted to demoralize the Qwardian force by making their leader look weak as well. Another of Stewart's battle-isms. Dave had paid attention to both his teachers - yellow and green.

Volthoon was sent sprawling, blindsided. Jade moved to defend him, but was commanded off as Volthoon rose, his attentions now focused on Dave. And went without a second thought to throw herself against the Corps. Volthoon had developed in that instant a grudge specifically against Dave. The man who had escaped death by his hand before. Volthoon was dressed as only mad monks would dress - a gaudy, glittering, jewel-studded mockery of a monk's plain robe. In the flesh as he was, he could draw fully on his sorceries, and wasn't limited to just the golden power of his mock-ring. He lashed out on the approaching lantern with golden lightening, arcing from his fingertips, that was more potent than anything he had thrown while possessing Jade's body.

Dave was rather livid himself, and his fury at the person who'd been using Jade, killing people senselessly - it gave him a disturbing power, a cold fury that kept his focus and willpower like he'd never had them. A solid green bubble formed around him, roughly 50 feet wide, leaving the lighting to splatter harmlessly against it. When the bubble vanished, there were a dozen Lanterns there, all wreathed in green fire, all replicas of Dave. He needed to get close to Volthoon, and he'd have to distract him to do it. All twelve converged on the monk, each taking different vectors of approach. All he needed was just a touch...

Volthoon simply lashed out against them all in a truly Qwardian manner, tearing up a wall of earth which ripped across the distance like a tidal wave, crushing and entangling in its momentum anything in its path. Even his own Weaponers. The Weaponers - at least those that survived - praised their ruthless leader. Those that didn't simply died in the glory of service. Sick and twisted people, the Qwardians were. And it was behind the Qwardian Monk that the true Green Lantern appeared from empty air, utilizing the trick that Jade had on him in their spar just a week ago. He caught the monk in a forceful hold, hissing in his ear with a gleeful spite. "Next stop: the future." Dave's ring shone with great brilliance, its newly restored power taking both its wearer and his captive through the corridors of time - three thousand years into the future. Jade had told him that there were those who were just waiting for his ring to appear, so he was hoping their fury would extend to someone along with him, while he disappeared back through time.

A single Enforcer was indeed lying in wait when the time portal spewed forth Dave and Volthoon. A mechanical voice boomed across the vacuum in the place where Earth had perhaps once stood. Despite the tinny mechanical tone - there was a definite note of true smugness in the voice.  "This is a violation of temporal code 19786B. Punishable by immediate removal from the timeline." That was the only warning given before a bolt of energy, temporal in nature, ripped across the distance with a hiss from the weapon held in the hands of the armored being.

Dave quickly used Volthoon as a 'kickoff point', firing an emerald blast to push away from Volthoon, neatly dodging the temporal energy. His ring flared with its emerald brilliance again, slipping from the bounds of the third dimension to travel back in time to the present. Looming near, he knew all too well that Frankie would get blamed again. He found himself wishing he could do better. Perhaps he should have concentrated more fully, for while he did reappear in the present, either his distraction or his proximity to the time-disrupting weapon had caused him to emerge in empty vacuum, with only the soft twinkle of stars to break the void. This wasn't good. He could vaguely make out where Earth was, but getting there before he completely collapsed due to exhaustion was another matter. "Best not to waste time then," he noted to himself, streaking off at his best speed.

When Volthoon had been eradicated from time, something shifted, ever so slightly. It didn't take long for the Weaponers to be subdued, most attempting to flee back through the portal they had traveled there through before it collapsed. Jade's ring evaporated, probably at the worst possible moment, and she was sent flying by an attack from Kyle as her powers dissipated, the armor disappearing of her form, being returned to her casual jacket and jeans. It was pride, not any sort of malicious intent, that forced her to drag herself back to her feet, finding herself within reach of a discarded Weaponer's weapon. She would rather die here than admit that she'd been used as a pawn. She'd rather face up to the consequences of her actions than admit that she was weak. Still, it was inevitable that she was over powered, and drug away in glowing green chains.


	3. Ironic Rescues

Batman found himself gliding through the halls of the practically unused prison corridors of the League base on the moon. He paused before the cell door, watching its lone occupant silently. He'd never expected her to play God twice in one lifetime. She'd seemed so sincere in reformation after the last time, so why had she sided with the Qwardians?

Jade was slouched against a wall, sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, her forehead resting on one knee. There was a slight tremble in her hands, as her body was now feeling the nicotine-withdrawal that had shattered mind. Strangefate's wards had been utterly destroyed by Volthoon's presence. It was only looming horror that was staving off her temper now. Much in the same manner that had caused Nova's mind to collapse, causing the cosmic woman to end up as an exotic dancer in a 'gentleman's club' after being "fired" by Galactus, Jade's mind had gone numb. She didn't move as she heard the scuffle of feet outside her cell.

Batman The package of cigarettes, a small lighter attached, arced through the bars, landing with a soft pat onto the floor beside Jade. Bruce didn't approve of chain smoking, but he knew that the withdrawal had to be a killer for Jade. He'd heard the same story that everyone else had, that Jade had led the army with Volthoon, and had devastated so much. He wanted to hear anything she might have to say.

She didn't move for a good solid minute after hearing the object hit the floor. First, only her eyes moved. Them somewhat hesitantly, her hand moved to pick up the pack. She stared at it vaguely. It was rather tempting to let herself suffer. Especially in the face of that shaming act of kindness. She deserved far worse. "Fool," she muttered, attempting to maintain the tone of voice she had held in her final moments of battle. "You're fecking soft." Temptation won out, and she pulled a cigarette from the pack, placing it between her lips and lighting it.

Batman snorted, amused. "Like anyone would believe you." He watched her a few moments more, the smoke drifting about the small cell. Kal would hate it. "What happened to the Qwardian you were with? And for that matter, what happened to the Lantern who stopped him?" The Lantern's identity hadn't been widely circulated yet, and no one had even heard Volthoon's name. Where the two had gone was a total mystery.

That actually got a reaction. Her blue eyes shot to him, the concern in them unmasked for a moment. "The feck do you mean 'what happened'?" she growled. "Newboy killed Volthoon. I felt it before the ring evaporated." She narrowed her eyes on Batman, and then looked sharply away, her head moving to lean back against the wall of the cell. The rabbit's foot was dangling against the outside of her shirt for once. Her fingers moved to curl around it as she exhaled a cloud of smoke, concentrating. He was probably dead. Once again, her fault...  "Space. Deep space... He's got my ring, he'll be fi-" she stopped, her eyes opening. "He can't have slept in days. If he passes out... Feck. You have to go after him."

Batman narrowed his eyes briefly. "Under that sort of circumstance, yes, we do." Reaching a gauntleted hand to the door control panel, he opened the door, entering the room and nearing her. "And you're coming with me." He'd seen her sense at finding things when she concentrated enough at work, and he doubted he would find a single Green Lantern anywhere on his own. But neither was he taking chances, securing her in a pair of handcuffs. Five minutes later, they were en route. "Which way?" He wasn't rather talkative, but when was he? But after he'd trusted Jade, only to see her do almost the same thing again....

"Fine," had been her only response. The handcuffs were a bit much, but she didn't blame him. However, once they got into the shuttle, she was inclined to argue the point. It'd make far much more sense to just let her pilot. She didn't say anything until asked, though, sitting with her head bowed, longish bangs falling over her closed eyes. "A little bit that way," she muttered with a nod slightly left. Then sighed, "Or something like that. I think..." she muttered under her breath.

"Then think harder." He seemed downright icy, even for him. "I don't suppose there's a reason for trying to conquer the world less than a year after the Parallax incident?" Jade wasn't the villainous sort. Somewhat shady, perhaps, definitely fringe material, but not evil in the megalomaniacal sense. If she wasn't guilty, despite the overwhelming appearance that she was, she didn't need to be punished.

Jade opened her eyes, a rather malevolent glower in them being fixed on him. "It doesn't fecking work this way. Just let me fly the god damned ship," she growled, and then looked sharply away, almost flinching. After a moment's silence, she said lowly, "The Qwardians seemed like a good shot at getting rid of the fecking Corps once and for all. Revenge. That's all it was. Fecking revenge." She knew it didn't add up with anything she'd said in their little chat in the Batmobile, or with her slip in showing concern for Dave, but she didn't care. Anything was better than admitting to being a pawn. Again.

Batman smirked lightly, finally removing her restraints. She was trying to hard to just let the guilt fall on her, that all she had wanted was vengeance. If that's what she wanted to say, that suited him. He would just sit there and watch while she flew to the rescue of the Lantern Corps' rookie. It would be amusing, if things weren't in their present state.

She grunted crossly, moving to seize the controls. Laying her fingers lightly over them, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and a moment to concentrate before her fingers moved to steer the ship. It made no sense, but she could vaguely feel the ring resonating with temporal energy, and was fairly sure what had happened. And it was her own fault for telling him about the ring's abilities and the Enforcer. She altered the course twice, just slightly, and then dropped her hands away from the controls. "There... If he's not already dead when we get there, I'm gonna kill him."

Dave (hours later) was drifting forward, thankfully maintaining a fair speed due to his momentum, but all of his efforts had gone into keeping himself awake. He'd been up for almost four days. The ring was helpful, but he couldn't hold out much longer. But the appearance of the League craft was nothing short of the happiest thing he'd seen in a long time. In a last, desperate effort, he willed himself into the airlock opening for him. He leaned heavily against the bulkhead once inside, his fatigue coming back all over again.

As soon as the airlock shut, letting him in, a seething Jade shot to greet him. "You little -idiot-!" He looked like hell. Jade had only enough pity to keep from throttling him. Well. And she was admittedly glad he was alive. "Gimme the fecking ring, kid."  She was intent on draining off the time travel abilities yet again. She would have made him do it, but she doubted at the moment he could. And she wanted it done now. Getting used to the prospect of tampering with time every time something went wrong wasn't an idea she was going to let stay in his head.

Dave The hand wearing the ring closed into a fist. He wasn't giving it up. "No." He knew what she wanted to do, and he wouldn't let her. "I did what I had to. You and your pal evaded patrols and started a war that killed thousands. Like it or not, you told me what this ring can do. I will make use of it, but only if there is no other way. There was an Enforcer waiting for us, and if the Qwardian hadn't been with me, I would have been erased. I've seen the danger first hand, and I am not using it again unless there is no other way." She called him 'kid'. He likely was, in more ways than he would care to imagine, but he'd stand on his own decisions, good or bad. He'd learned a lot about sacrifices and duty - both from his Lantern mentors, and from her.

She narrowed her eyes on him, for a few moments looking as if she'd was perfectly willing to fight him over it. Then she backed down with a very non-Jade-like sigh. "Don't fecking forget that, like everyone else who's gained the power has." Growling softly, she turned, moving back towards the cockpit. She hesitated after a step. "You did good, kid. Dave. Hal... He woulda said the ring's in good hands." Stiffly, she stalked back to the cockpit, sinking into a seat.

Dave finally smiled, despite himself. It had probably been the nicest thing he'd heard in his life. Especially coming from someone who'd known the Lantern Corps' greatest hero like she had. He shuffled into the cockpit as well, exchanging a nod with the Batman. He'd never met him before, but it seemed about as much as he'd ever get in greeting, if any at all. He eased himself into a chair towards the rear of the ship, falling into a blissfully deep sleep.

Tucking her heels on the edge of the seat, she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, her forehead resting once more on one knee. She could feel the ring's proximity. It was almost maddening. Somehow, despite everything, some part of that green energy still burned within her. She rather suspected that somehow she'd exchanged a part of her soul with the ring. Jade, however, wasn't willing to bet that that would be enough to cheat Mephisatanus. After a long silence, she raised her head a little. "Bats...?" she was keeping her voice low, not wanting to disturb the poor sleeping Dave.

Batman simply quirked an eyebrow, indicating he was paying attention, despite not turning away from the controls to look at her. He'd heard the exchange in the hallway, and had been listening carefully to the new Lantern. He sounded as though he'd be like most of the other additions to the gallery of heroes on Earth. Naturally, Batman would have no use for him.

She wasn't looking at him either, but she knew he'd listen, so she spoke after a short hesitation. "You know I'll die before I make any kind of excuse for my actions. So... Just... consider this a warning." She paused, licking her lips. "If I live, this kind of thing's just... gonna keep happenin'... If I die... After this last stunt... I fecking undid everything Spectre did to free my soul from Meph-" she cut herself off before competing the name, abruptly correcting herself, "From hell. Worked for'im before, see... No reason to believe I won't be sent back to work again... Since I'd be... all his..." She wasn't trying to make an argument for sparing her life. Her tone carried equal loathing for both prospects. "Guess I'm...  askin' for another favor. I know it can be done. I know you carry a lot of weight with the League, and the League could probably sway the Corps' decision... I know it can be done. Don't know if you guys have the equipment for it. But tell'em to put me in stasis. For everyone's sake. I don't want to do this again."

Batman seemed to ponder that a moment. "The League can't mandate sentencing for crimes such as this. We are not a sovereign body. We can, however, propose putting you in stasis indefinitely. Given the League's own stature among the world governments, especially that of the United States, where the attacks took place, we can convince them that putting you in stasis would be the best course." Kal would likely lap up the stasis idea. He was so pure he made Ivory soap look dirty.

"As long as it gets done," she said, her head lowering back to her knee. She was forcing herself not to think about anything, really. It was a tough battle. Her thoughts seemed to want to gather at the moment around Dave. Finally, she raised her head a few inches once more. "I know you've got better things to do with your time, but... Keep an eye out for Dave. My ring... No. His ring. It's got everything stored in it. My memories, basically, since the moment I put it on. Could be a bad influence on the kid..." She paused, and then added humorlessly, "Rayner influence. Coming from both sides. Maybe it's best to just kill him now before he goes mad..."

Batman snorted audibly, hiding his amusement. After another moment, regaining his more cold poise, he noted "I keep an eye on everyone, Frankie." And he did, too. That piece of kryptonite he had in secret storage was not there for looking pretty. "Why don't we just hope that what he sees will discourage him from doing anything similar." It would be a noble sentiment had that come from anyone but the King of all Pessimism. He'd be watching the new Lantern regardless.

She flinched slightly at being called Frankie. "I know you do, Bats. Pointy-eared guardian angel that you are..." Was it possible that the truth was going to come out about who she was? She hoped not, for Kyle's sake. Kyle hadn't handled it well the last time around. Her head lowered to her knee again. "Thanks, Bats. For everything. Both times around..." Her muffled, quiet voice expressed that one last thought before she fell into the silence that she would end up not breaking throughout the entirety of whatever trails she was forced to sit through until a verdict was reached. Jade remained behind her murderous glower, letting people think her as evil as they pleased, knowing the only two people that suspected her intentions were any different would keep their mouths shut.

Batman never responded to her thanks. He suspected there was more to her just happening to meet some Qwardian and offer to lead his army just for 'revenge'. A vengeance so thorough she'd just saved the man who'd destroyed the Qwardian war effort. Right. From what she was saying, the Lantern behind him, 'Dave', knew something more. Perhaps he'd have to ask in a nonchalant way.


	4. The Verdict

It took perhaps two weeks for the verdict to be agreed upon, and for Jade to be placed in stasis. She expressed no remorse for her actions. She kept on her most smug face. It was the only dignity she had left, after all, and she meant to keep it. Jade forced herself not to contemplate the void. She'd heard that being put in stasis was like being locked in deep sleep, but she'd also heard that you dreamt. Likely, this was going to be her own private hell. But a private hell was better than real hell. Maybe the sleep would render her in total oblivion. Maybe. Her last action as the fields kicked in was to curl her fingers around the old worn rabbit's foot that no one had bothered to take away from her.

Dave had been present at Frankie's trial. Every single session. He'd even been called upon a few times. He hadn't let on anything about what had happened, though. Frankie had never even bothered to contest the charges, accepting the blame for them. It was not something he relished doing, but he didn't explain the Qwardian possessing her. He'd even been there when they put her into stasis. He felt somehow connected to her by the ring he wore. Maybe in some ways he felt responsible. He didn't have much time to think about it, though, now working on his own, his teachers deciding he'd learned enough to do so. Returning to his apartment late one night, he didn't even bother altering his clothing back to normal, deciding just to flump over onto his bed and go to sleep.

The sanctuary at the top of Arkham Tower was dark, lit only by the flickering flames of a few candles, the light from outside having long since stopped flooding in through the great oval window by the floating, hieroglyph covered throne. That small amount of light reflected off the gold helmet that sat against the foot of the throne, and in a somewhat softer way, reflected off the smooth skin of the head of the man who sat brooding in that seat of power. The Crystal Orb still hung in the air before him, but it too had gone dark. He had ceased watching images from the other dimension over an hour ago. It was not the first time he had gazed in on the life of his wayward agent. He had been watching carefully ever since the day she stormed out of the dimension after killing Hal Jordan, 'for no reason'. There had been a reason, but it was not one she would have understood. His brow furrowed - how often had Miss Rayner pleaded with him not to say that? She had come to understand, he knew. That it had been necessary for Hal to become Spectre. As so many other things had been necessary, so that he, despite all his power, was bound not to intervene. His hands were no longer tied. Slowly, those golden-gloved hands shifted from his lap, moving to pick up the helmet. Even in the dim light, Charles caught his distorted reflection in the smooth gold metal. Distorted, in so many ways. Closing his eyes, he slid the helmet on. Becoming Doctor Strangefate. He cast aside his thoughts for the moment, and stood. Extending a hand, a flowing red cloak drifted towards him at the unspoken command, settling around his shoulders as he slowly moved down the steps. Another gesture, and the Crystal Orb vanished inside its protective container, sealed away with a spell. Slowly, he strode across the silent hall to its center, stopping in the middle of the pentagram that was inlayed in the stonework of the floor. Both hands gestured together, and the pentagram arced with mystical fire, golden light filling the chamber. On his chest, the Eye of Agamotto gazed with its own glow across dimensions, united with Xavier's mind in seeking out the mind of the man who now wore Jade's ring. Upon finding it, Strangefate stepped through the portal that opened in front of him, another step carrying him into Dave's bedroom in what would appear like a slow, golden flash of lightening. Standing at the foot of the bed, the glowing slots of the masks eyes focused on the man in it, in silent contemplation. He refrained from touching the man's mind, at least, for now. He had already learned enough of what he needed to know. "David Armstrong," he said quietly, the mask actually adding a deep authoritative edge to his voice, instead of muffling it. "I have come to reclaim that which is mine."

Tired as he was, strange people appearing in his bedroom in the wee hours of the morning proved rather startling. His emerald shield was up in a flash, he was across the room, and a second force field was in place. Dave's eyes studied the figure carefully. As his gaze flickered over the helmet, Frankie's words came back to him. "You're the one Jade mentioned. But what are you here to reclaim?" The one answer that came to mind firsthand was the ring. That was a none too cheerful thought. He'd just started in his role as a Green Lantern, and was none too keen on letting it go suddenly.

Unmoving for a moment, he gazed across the room at the hand, and then simply waved his right hand in a gesture of dismissal. Yes, that's where Jade-Parallax had learned that move. Instead of a forceful attack, however, the gesture served only to draw the green energy out of the ring and the man, making it hover in a green, floating blob a few feet away from him. The ring was now about as useful as the plastic ones they sold at the register of Warriors. Strangefate dropped his hand by his side. "I am Doctor Strangefate. And it is within my rights to reclaim this. However..." His hand moved to gesture a small circle in the air with his fingers. Just like that, the power was suddenly back in the ring. "I choose to instead claim Miss Rayner. It is not my intention to make this appear as an attack against the headquarters of the Justice League. Which is why you will accompany me, and serve to announce my intent to them."

Dave carefully studied the man before him. He obviously could mop the floor with him, as he'd just yanked all the energy from his ring, and returned it just as quickly. But the League would definitely be less than happy that he was doing this, but if this man, who he recognized from Jade's memories as Strangefate, was here to 'collect' Jade, then he'd take her to the other universe, and no one would be the wiser. And as opposed to getting himself killed and putting League members at risk - it seemed the wiser option regardless. "Would you rather use the League transporters, or do you have means of transport?"

A soft chuckled escaped the confines of the mask. "I have my own means of taking us both there, Mister Armstrong. But as I wish to be as non-offensive as possible... Which do you suggest?" Strangefate was, perhaps, making his own assessment of the man that now wore -his- ring.  Dave was certainly far more polite than Jade had ever been, and Strangefate concluded that common sense extended to other areas as well. From this, and what he had seen through the Orb, Armstrong seemed... acceptable.

"Either of us could get there, I think its just a matter of who trusts who. I would think that I should just take us. It would ease my worries about you transporting me someplace strange, and I think you would be able to escape even if I did try and leave you in the vacuum, or use the transporters to either incarcerate you or injure you, judging by the power you just exhibited." He was trying to be polite and accommodating, as Jade had recommended. Strangefate was hugely unsettling though. Why even bother with this? Surely he could just spirit Jade away and no one would ever know.

The man gave a nod. "I trust you, Mister Armstrong, and accept your preference." It was quite likely true that he could have simply pulled Jade to the other dimension, with no one being the wiser. However, he wished to make his name and presence known in this dimension. If his thoughts were correct, he might be forced to rely on the assistance of the beings in this realm, very soon.

Dave had considered using his ring to carry them both there, but not really much of a showoff, he settled on using his ring to call the Watchtower, calling for transport of himself and Strangefate. In a flash, they were there. A briefing room had been called for so that Strangefate's demand could be noted.

Strangefate didn't seem in the least disturbed by the transport, appearing in the Watchtower looking as imperious as ever. He didn't quite land, either. He was hovering about four inches off the floor under the influence of his cloak. The masked head turned slightly, the eyes taking in details and storing them for later as he was led to the briefing room to speak with the league.

Being an apparent 'liaison' between League and Strangefate, and since he wanted to keep his ring, Dave explained Strangefate's 'claim' to Frankie, and his want for her to be returned to his service. He even added as a more personal remark - "She's in stasis, and she's powerless. Dr. Strangefate is from another dimension, and he has power that can keep her in check. We can't keep Jade indefinitely, I mean, somewhere along the line, the League might be attacked or destroyed, and her stasis field won't hold out forever. This way, she presents as little a threat as possible to any dimensions." He felt horrible, villainizing Frankie like this, but what else could he do? He needed a break, and was aiming for one. The appraising stares of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were rather intense. He knew Bats knew of Frankie's predicament, or at least he assumed he did - he'd been on the ship that rescued him. The others were more of a tossup.

Strangefate loomed quietly as Dave explained things. The man was doing a good job at skating around certain parts of the truth, and was obviously trustworthy. Perhaps, to a fault. When Dave had concluded his speech, Xavier stepped forward. "I am aware that you may hold suspicions that I somehow intentionally sent Jade to this dimension with a destructive purpose. I can only give you my assurances that I did not. I am bound, as is every being, by fate, and despite my wishes to curtail the actions of my rogue agent, I could not. For both good and evil, she had a role to play in the development of your dimension, and my hands were tied." This was somewhat noble. His next words, however, were a lot darker. "That role, however, has come to its conclusion, and there is nothing to prevent me from taking custody of my agent in order to discipline her for her crimes both in this dimension, and my own."

Dave wasn't quite sure that kind of heavy-handed speech would be all that convincing. Batman seemed to have things well in hand though, aiming to give Frankie a shot as well, knowing there was more than just vengeance behind her last move. "If she has committed crimes in your dimension as well, then your claim must predate the one of this dimension, in which case it could be easily arranged for her extradition into your dimension." His words were legalese, and were stretching some laws, but technically, he was correct - it could be done.

He let some of the imperiousness slip away, his tone shifting to something more sincere and trusting. "If such is possible without making those in the general populace of Earth aware that there -is- another dimension, extradition does appear to be a most logical course of action. However, while I trust all of you, I cannot say I place the same trust on the rest of humanity, and others that might gain knowledge of this information. I would be most grateful if this went no further than this room."

Batman didn't seem phased. He'd tried to follow the rules, but if this required a low profile, he could do that also. It was Kal and Diana who might object. Whether Jade was here or there - it didn't matter. She would be away from outside influences regardless. As expected, they went into a small huddle, but Batman finally talked the others into going along, and it was decided that Frankie's stasis tube would be emptied, but left operational to provide a ruse.

Strangefate waited quietly and patiently while they discussed the issue. In truth, he had little intentions of actually 'punishing' Miss Rayner. Forcing her back to work would be punishment enough. While he tended to hide everything - especially his emotions - behind the cold, golden mask, he was fond of Jade. While her temper and attitude had been frustrating, he was well aware of her inner conflicts, and had tried to aid her in dealing with them. Her lack of willingness to accept help made that difficult. Perhaps this time would be different.

Dave accompanied the small group down to the stasis bays. He was unsure about Strangefate, but he never had liked the idea of railroading Jade and keeping her here, either. Part of him was hoping she didn't wake up before Strangefate took her away. He wasn't sure he wanted her to see him and realize that Strangefate had gone to him, and that he'd helped him out. This was just one big no-win situation.

Strangefate watched as they brought her out of stasis, also taking in the details of the machinery. He had created many machines himself, such as the spacecraft jade had once 'owned', and had no small interest in the technological workings of the other dimensions. Jade woke almost instantaneously. Like someone jerked out of a nightmare. The face that had been held by stasis in the stoic-smug look broke all too easily into a combination of horror, and confusion as she looked at those who had brought her out of stasis. Finally, things sunk in. She hadn't yet seen Strangefate. He'd positioned himself so she wouldn't do so right away. Why...? the woman murmured, her eyes fixing, for lack of a better place to go, on Batman.

Batman glanced at the nearby Lantern, but Dave didn't seem interested in explaining. He wasn't even looking at her. Batman said nothing at all, turning his head to regard Strangefate, figuring it would be explanation enough. Superman and Wonder Woman hung back, not familiar with all the details of the interdimensional entanglements as Batman and the Green Lantern seemed to be. Dave finally glanced up at her, the look in his eyes very much so one that seemed to apologize profusely. Maybe if he'd resisted...no, that wouldn't have helped. Frankie never got a break, and he felt guilty. Maybe it was some kinship he felt in wearing her ring, and inheriting her legacy, so to speak.

When there was no explanation for what was going on and Dave was the only one that would look at her, Jade narrowed her eyes a little and stepped away from the stasis chamber. Catching sight of Strangefate. The confused look on her face faded away into pure dread. No... Please... Just let it be... she whispered. Strangefate drifted forwards, now nearly a foot off the ground, in full imperiousness. "You have much to answer for, Miss Rayner. I cannot simply 'let it be'." As he came closer, she backed away. There was nowhere to go, really, and there was no one in the room that would come to her defense. She'd ensured that herself. The irony. The look on her face went from dread to being utterly horrified. She dropped to her knees, apparently resigning herself to her fate. Strangefate gazed at her a moment, then turned to address the others. "You have my gratitude. I foresee a time in the near future where we might be required to meet again. Until then." He gestured with one hand, the medallion on his chest glowing. Then, in a blinding flash of light, he and Jade were gone.

Dave the others filed out of the room, dead silent. Dave couldn't bring himself to go. He hated himself at the moment, to be blunt. Superman had lingered a moment, but the look on his face made it clear he didn't want to talk. "I'm sorry, Frankie," he said to the empty room, staring at the empty chamber. "I should have done something."


End file.
